


I'm Sure We've Met in Another Universe

by Jeniouis



Series: Howard Stark Centered Fics [17]
Category: Avengers (2012), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Avengers Family, But also, Fluff and Crack, Gen, Good Father!Howard, Good Father!Tony, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Past Sexual Abuse of a Child, Time Travel, Tony's A+ Parenting, Work In Progress, in a weird way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-17
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-02-17 17:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2317121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeniouis/pseuds/Jeniouis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony's not sure how it happened. And there was very little that Tony couldn't understand. You know genius, billionaire, all that jazz. But this one was past even him.</p><p>Or the one where Tony raises his dad. AKA Crackville</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Tony's not sure how it happened. And there was very little that Tony couldn't understand. You know genius, billionaire, all that jazz.

But this one was past even him.

"What did you say your name was again?" Tony ask the frightened little boy cowering in the corner of Fury's office.

Fury had called him; Steve and Bruce were there for support that Tony desperately needed. They were all staring at the boy in astonishment. None of them could really find any words to say, not even Fury, not even Steve, so they let Tony take over for once.  
After all the two were family.

The boys eyes shifted to everyone in the room in fear and he swallowed twice before he quietly whispered,

"Howard. My name is Howard Stark."

Tony took a deep breath. He would have laughed this off and said a few choice words to Fury about this horrid joke but really...this kid looked like he could honestly be mini version of his dad.

Tony sighed, "Howard?" Tony repeated and the boy nodded. "And how did you get here Howard?" The boys eyes widened with fear.

"I don't know, one minute I was tinkering in my dad's lab and the next I was sucked in the big hole in the air. I want to go back home. I want my mommy!" Howard cried frantically as he lunged himself at Tony, wrapping his arms around his neck. The engineer was caught off by the suddenly action but he did manage to embrace Howard, looking back at Steve for some sort of help. Tony wasn't good with kids and he had been even worse with his father when he had been alive so the combination of the two was bound to end in disaster.

Steve just looked back at him cluelessly. Tony had never seen that lost look on Steve's face before. The captain always had a plan but apparently this was beyond him too.

"Um, uh, eh-I-um, eh-it'll be alright." Tony stammered as he rubbed Howard's back. Comforting was not Tony's strong suit. "It'll be alright; well get you back home, alright?" Tony said and Howard nodded, seemingly taking slight peace from hearing that. "And Fury, how did this happen?" Tony asked the director with a grim glare though he didn't say it forcefully. He didn't want to scare the little boy in his arms.

The director shrugged, "I have no idea. Selvig was doing some work with the Tesseract and he said a portal opened and the kid popped out."

"So a portal was created like when Loki came." Steve asked and Fury shrugged.

"That's what I've been told." Fury said simply. "If you don't believe he's your...family, then a DNA test can be done." Tony nodded slowly, glad that Fury chose his words carefully. If this kid really did pop out of a time warp, he probably didn't need to know that right now his son was thirty plus years his senior.

"I think that's what's going to be necessary to make me believe this." Tony said as he tried to push the kid away. But his dad seemed stuck on him. That would have been cute had this kid been someone other than his dad. Well, they still won't know that if he's Tony's dad for sure until the test results. Tony looked at Steve, mouthing "HELP ME!" As he once again tried to pry the kid off of him. His dad must have been all of, what? Five, six? There is no way a six year old should be this damn strong. Steve shrugged helplessly until his eyes lit up in a way that meant he had a plan. Tony was glad he had finally snapped out his daze.

"Hey little guy, are you hungry?" Steve asked as he knelt down to Howard's level. The boy quickly released Tony and turned to Steve, nodding fervently. Tony tried to ignore the sudden jealousy rising in his chest but really, out of all of them here, Steve knew Howard better than anyone. But then again this was Howard as a kid and he was already a million times different than Tony thought he would have been. Maybe this wasn't his dad. Steve grabbed Howard's hand and started leading him out but Bruce stopped them.

"I better swab his cheek real quick." Bruce said as he pulled some Q-Tips out of his back pocket. Tony took a moment to ideally wonder why his science bro walked around with random Q-Tips in the back of his pocket but quickly snapped back to the present when Bruce knelt down to the boy. "Can you open your mouth for me?" Bruce asked, completely innocuous but his dad's little eye widen so filled with fear and he ran back to Tony who resisted the urge to groan, wondering why Howard always ran back to him.

"Don't let him hurt me!" Howard wailed as he pretty much attached himself to Tony's legs, clutching them with all his might. And now Tony was even more confused, wondering why his dad thought Bruce was going to hurt him. Logically, in the back of his mind he knew why but it wasn't something he ever wanted to believe. He hoped to God no one had hurt his dad like _that_.

"Bruce isn't going to hurt you." Tony tried to reassure him but the boy looked up at him with the most betrayed look as he started crying.

"You're going to just let him, just like Ellen." Howard said. And didn't Tony's heart just crush into a million little pieces and fall on the floor. Tony sighed; despite feeling sorry for the kid, he was ready to fork him over to Steve again because Tony _really_ didn't know how to handle this situation. Just comforting a kid was hard enough but a traumatized kid... Tony leaned down and picked him up

"No, I would never let anyone hurt you." Tony said sincerely. It seemed like that was the right thing to say since Howard calmed a little, laying his head on Tony's shoulder.

"Howard, how old are you?" Bruce asked suddenly. It was a random question but Tony figured he had a reason for asking. Howard eyed him warily and looked up at Tony who nodded.

"Four." The boy answered quietly.

"And what year is it?" Bruce asked. Then it clicked. Tony had been so caught up in...everything that he hadn't thought about the era differences. That would definitely effect how Howard viewed the world. The boy looked at Bruce as if he had lost his mind but he did answer,

"Nineteen twenty-two." Give or take ninety years. Q-Tips didn't even exist in Howard's world. They were invented a year later and under a different name*. But the ages correlated. Tony's dad was born in nineteen eighteen.

"I see, well this," Bruce started as he raised the cotton swab in the air, "Is a Q-Tip, it's just a stick with cotton at the end. Do you want to hold it?" Bruce asked. Howard still eyed him warily for a moment before he nodded shyly. When Bruce handed him the object, Howard looked at it for a moment.

"Why do you need to put it in my mouth?" Howard asked. Tony pursed his lips; how does one explain DNA testing to a child from the twenties? Apparently Bruce and Steve didn't have an answer to take question either since they just stared at Howard dumbfoundedly and then looked at Tony. Apparently it was his turn again.

"Um, well, see these catch the germs in your mouth so you won't get sick." Tony said, hoping Howard wouldn't think too hard on that. The boy OH'd as if the whole world made sense now. He wiped the inside of his mouth with it and threw it in the garbage. That was good enough; the garbage empty right now and Bruce could just fish it out when Steve took Howard to catch some food.

"Okay, good, so now-" Tony started.

"No, do you. Or else you'll get sick." Howard said. Tony resisted the urge to sigh and roll his eyes but he took a Q-Tip as well as Bruce and Steve and wiped the inside of his mouth. The boy looked over at Fury, who they all forgot was even there because he was so damn quiet, expectantly, lifting a cotton swab in the air. Tony didn't think Fury would have been up to it but the director took the swab without too much hesitation and played along with everyone else. Once Howard was satisfied he climbed out of Tony's arms and walked back over to Steve, making a big motion of going around Bruce as he did so. Tony rolled his eyes

"Sorry." Tony told Bruce because he had this compelling urge to apologize for Howard's behavior though Bruce didn't really seem to care.

"It's alright. I'm used to kids being scared of me." Bruce said and Tony had to laugh.

"I'm still hungry." Howard told Steve as he pulled on the blonde's pants leg. Steve nodded and picked him up.

"Okay, you know what sounds good: Pizza." Steve said and Howard cocked his head.

"But what about rations?" Howard asked and Steve winced a little, obviously having been out of the forties for so long, he forgot about that tidbit.

"Oh don't worry. We've got plenty." Steve reassured him and Howard seemed to believe him. He looked behind him at Tony and held out his hand, obviously wanting him to come along. Tony sighed; he wanted nothing more than to go find a bottle to crawl into but apparently Howard had different plans. Just like he did the entire time Tony was growing up. Tony nodded and followed the two out the room.

As they were walking, Tony worked on every calculation he knew to try and find a way to send his mini-dad back to wherever he was from but then he remembered how fearful Howard had looked when he thought someone was going to hurt. And the _type_ of pain Howard had anticipated worried Tony even more. And the more he thought about it the more he found his mind slipping more towards what would happen to the universe if Tony just kept his dad here.


	2. Chapter 2

_Tony sat in his room. He had a gazillion toys. Which really meant nothing because he had no one to play with. He grabbed a toy truck and ran into his dad’s study. His dad didn’t say anything when he came in, just looked down at him with a small smile then went back to his work. Tony hadn’t expected him to say anything either. He just really hoped he would._

_“Hi daddy.” Tony said as he shyly walked around his dad’s desk to see what he was working on. Sometimes his dad shooed him away but this time he only moved back a little so Tony could see._

_“Hello Anthony.” His dad said as Tony looked over his new project. It wasn’t a weapon. Tony knew mostly because his dad wouldn’t let him see his weapon designs. He never told Tony why but he always got very angry when Tony tried to look at them._

_“What’s this?” Tony asked._

_“It’s a jet engine.” His dad said then patted Tony’s head. “Now move back. I have lots of work to do.” Tony deflated but moved to the other side of the desk._

_“Do I have to leave?” Tony asked._

_“No, just be quiet.” His dad said without ever look up. Tony sat on the floor and played with his truck. It was strange. His dad wasn’t a full foot away from him and Tony still felt so lonely._

\- – —

Bruce ran the tests. Howard was a hundred percent Tony’s dad. So Steve called a meeting so everyone on the team could be up to speed. They held it in the communal dining room in the tower and left Tony with his dad. As if Tony knew what to do with the kid version of his dad from the twenties. Or kids period.

He took the four-year-old down to the lab with him. He sat the kid on the workbench. Tony pulled up a stool and sat in front of him. Howard looked around a little but didn’t say anything. He didn’t talk unless he was asked a question but Tony figured that was because he was fearful. Tony was barely handling this time jump thing so he knew Howard had to be very confused.

“Hey, so, this is my lab. I’m a scientist.” Tony said because the silence was too uncomfortable. It reminded him about the dad he grew up with…Now that he was thinking about it, maybe Howard was just naturally quiet. His dad had never been one to talk to often. There were some many days where he wouldn’t say a word to Tony. Tony always thought it was personal but maybe it was just his dad’s way.

Howard looked around again. His eye caught the blue glow of one of Tony’s arc reactors. He reached towards it but immediately snatched his hand back as if he had done something wrong.

“I’m sorry.” Howard said as he dropped his head. Tony just furrowed his brow in confusion.

“No, it…it’s fine. You wanna see it?” Tony said as he grabbed the reactor and handed it to Howard. He looked at it intently. He twisted and pulled and it came apart. His dad figured out how to open it in five seconds flat. Which made Tony smile initially because it took genius to figure it out so quickly but Howard got the most fearful look. The same look he got when he thought Bruce was going to hurt him.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to break it.” Howard said quickly.

“No, no, it’s fine. You didn’t break it, you just opened it.” Tony said as he took the two pieces and held it out for Howard to see. “I have one of these in my chest.” Howard’s eyes shot up at him as if he were crazy.

“But why?” Howard asked.

“I was in a…accident a few years back. I got shrapnel in my chest.” Tony explained. Howard got the most horrified look.

“You got hurt?” His dad asked. Tony paused. He wondered how his…other, real? dad would have reacted to Afghanistan. He had never thought about it before.

“Yeah, but this, the arc reactor, it keeps the shrapnel from getting into my heart. So I won’t die.” Tony said.

“Can I see it?” Howard asked tentatively. Tony nodded and raised his shirt. Howard gasped a little. He leaned forward and kissed it. Tony chuckled. “My mommy kisses my sores.” Tony’s smile faltered. Wondering where Howard’s mother was when whoever it was had hurt his dad. He hoped she hadn’t hurt him too.

Tony sighed. He wanted to ask Howard about it but he figured being thrown into the future was traumatic enough. Plus he didn’t know how. So Tony just grabbed his StarkPad and handed it to Howard.

“I built this. You can play with it if you want.” Tony said. Then realized his mistake when his dad’s stared at it in confusion.

“What’s this? I’ve never seen anything like this.” Howard said. Tony tried to casually yet quickly take it out his hands before Howard saw the date on it. This was not how he wanted to inform Howard of the present situation.

“Know what, now that I think about it, this is more of a grown up’s toy. Why don’t you…” Tony said as he looked around, trying to figure out what he had in his lab that wouldn’t scare a kid from the twenties. Funny, futuristic Tony Stark had nothing of the kind.

“You get toys?” His dad asked quietly. Tony looked down at him. He had no idea how to answer that question. So he only nodded. “I don’t. My dad says I don’t deserve any.” Howard said as he tensed again, folding his hands in his lap, looking down at the floor. Tony noticed that he did that when he mentioned his dad (… his dad’s dad? That was Tony’s grandfather. And so far, Tony was not a fan) he would box up. Tony would have to relax him again. Get him talking again.

“Why does he say that?” Tony asked.

“He says I’m not good.” Was Howard’s meek, quiet reply. Tony’s stomach clenched. He really didn’t like where this conversation was going. He didn’t want to think about what his brilliant mind was screaming at him. So he just picked his dad up and hugged him.

“Well I think you’re very good and deserve lots of toys.” Tony said as he started walking out the lab towards his car lot. He knew he probably wasn’t wise to take his dad from the past out into two thousand and twelve but it seemed worth it to see that surprised smile from Howard. Plus, Howard was going to have to find out at sometime. Since Tony was pretty much planning on never sending him back to whatever horror his dad just left.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the interlude, Tony is like 10.
> 
> I hope you like this chapter. :) :D

_“Mom, dad, my project won first place at the science fair!” Tony said proudly, excitedly, as he carried his robot into the house. His mother hugged him._

_“I’m so proud of you.” She said. Tony smiled at the praise but he did kind of wished she had been there. “Howard come look at what Tony did!” His mother called out for his dad._

_“I know, I was there. First place at the fair.” Tony heard his dad reply from wherever he was, his voice holding a firm lack of interest. His mother sighed sharply, in exasperation. Tony deflated, looking down at the plush white carpet. But wait…his dad said he had been there? Tony hadn’t seen him._

_“Well then, let’s go out and celebrate.” His mother said proudly and that put a smile back on Tony’s face._

_Later, when they came back, Tony went to the lab to tinker, see what else he could come up with for a competition next month. His dad was already down there, looking over his project. Tony clutches the medal still hanging around his neck. Hoping, maybe this once, his dad would tell him he was proud._

_“Hey dad.” Tony said shyly. His father looked up at him, startled slightly. He must not have heard Tony walk in._

_“Hello Anthony.” He said, nodding towards the robot. “The design is impressive.” Tony held his breath. He almost got excited but he’s been tricked before. “But there are several flaws. You’ve made some careless mistakes. You need to concentrate Tony. Get your head out the clouds. You’re very genius but sometimes you just don’t use it.” His dad said, then turned around and simply walked away._

_And there it was. It wasn’t good enough. Nothing Tony ever did was good enough. There might have been a compliment in there, somewhere. But mostly Tony just felt insulted. Tony slumped in chair by his project, taking off his medal. Looking down at it. Funny. The thing that made him so proud just moments before repelled him now. Tony tossed it in the garbage._

-

Tony watched Howard intently as he played. Or rather, his version of playing. They were back now, in Tony’s lab. Howard was so happy right now. And excited. Tony was beginning to think he never had a toy in his life. But during the hour Tony had been watching them, Howard had yet to actually _play_ with them. He spent most of the time…arranging them? He took some toys and lined them up neatly in rows of five under the workbench. The others he took and lined up near Tony who was sitting on a couch. And when he was through, he sat by Tony, leaning against his leg, and started taking the toys apart, one by one…it was odd and Tony was kind of miffed because he _just_ bought them but Tony figured he was using the pieces to build something.

“Hey buddy,” The hell are you doing? Was what Tony almost asked but he took a deep breath and changed his course of words, “Do you mind if I call you Howie?” Tony asked the four year old. Calling him Howard reminded him too much of a hard man he could never please. The boy looked up at him. He always gave Tony his full attention when he addressed him. A habit Howard had lost by the time Tony came around.

“I like that name. I don’t like Howard. My dad’s name is Howard.” Howie said, very quiet and meekly. Tony’s brow furrowed. He actually didn’t know that. Howard never talked about Tony’s grandfather…or his grandmother for that matter. And Howard seemed to be really fond of her. The few times he mentioned her it was always with a smile. Tony sighed, looking at how Howie’s demeanor went from carefree to constrained and fearful in a matter of second.

Tony slid off the couch, sitting on the floor beside Howard. “Okay then Howie, what are you up to?” Tony asked.

“I’m building a robot.” Howard mumbled. He had disassembled the toys now and was organizing the pieces.

“Are you arranging the pieces by likeness?” Tony asked. Howard nodded. “Can I help you?” Howie looked up at him with a smile, nodding fervently. Tony smiled back. “I love building robots.” Tony said.

“Really?” Howard said. Tony nodded, hoping he was going by this the right way. He certainly didn’t want to traumatized the kid more than what he already was.

“Yeah, I have a really big robot that can walk. You wanna see it?” Tony asked. Howard nodded excitedly. Tony pulled out his phone and told Jarvis to bring in a suit. He had told Jarvis earlier to not speak, he didn’t want to scare a kid straight from the twenties. Before long one of Tony’s suits came ambling into the room. Howie’s eyes lit up, he jumped to his feet and ran over to the machine.

“It’s fantastic!” Howie yelled gleefully. Tony noted that he would have to teach Howie modern slang very soon. Tony got up and walked over to him.

"It’s _cool_ , right?” Tony said. “But that’s not the best part.” Howie looked up at him eagerly. Tony stepped in front of the suit, causing it to open so he could step inside.

Howard was blown away. “Oh my God, that’s amazing!” Tony chuckled as he knelt to Howie’s level.

“See, when I’m in this suit I can protect people from danger.” Tony said. Howie wow’d, looking up at Tony with so much admiration. Tony stood, stepping out the suit, and kneeling back down to Howie. “And the suit gives me powers.” Tony said as he raised his hand, summoning a gauntlet. He lowered to energy projection and aimed at a chair, blasting it though the low power only pushed it back a few feet.

“That is so amazing. Can I see it?” Howie asked, hopping up and down. Tony nodded, taking off the metal glove and handing it to Howie, who leaned on his chest as he inspected it. Tony took a deep breath, willing himself to get to the point as to why he showed Howie all this.

“So kiddo…protecting people is my job. I keep people safe…” God, how was he supposed to ask this? Tony kept trying to think about how he’s seen it done on TV. Howie didn’t seem to even notice him anymore though. He was very enthralled with the gauntlet. “So…if someone is hurting you, Howie, I can protect you. All you have to do is tell me.” Tony said, hoping for the best. But Howie didn’t react. Almost as if he hadn’t heard Tony. He was going to repeat himself then Howie’s brow furrowed and he mumbled something. Tony didn’t catch what he said, didn’t even know if Howie was even talking to him.

“Howie, is anyone touching you at home? Or is anyone hurting you with a part of their body?” Tony asked more bluntly. Howard didn’t say anything for a moment, but then he looked up at Tony, meeting his eyes. Howie’s little eyes were filled with hurt, horror, betrayal. But what sent a chill down Tony’s spine was that Howard was looking at him as if he knew exactly who Tony was. As if he were someone a lot older than the four-year old boy he was just a second ago.

“Tony, why did you have to ask that?” Howard asked, as if he were already fully away of the elephant in the room and that there was a silent contract between them to keep it firmly unaddressed.

It was fucking uncanny!

But Tony was both relieved and horrified when the child in Howie seemed to reappear as he wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck, hugging him as tightly as his little arms could—which was actually a lot tighter than Tony expected—and started crying.

…where was Steve when he needed him? Tony didn’t know how to handle this. But this was Tony’s fault. He opened this can of worms, it was his responsibility to deal with it.

“Umm…so I’m taking that as a yes?” Tony said. Then immediately wanted to blast himself in the face. Especially when Howie started crying harder.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Howie said, his voice muffled from where it was buried in Tony’s neck. The genius sighed. He hadn’t meant to make the kid clam up. He hadn’t meant to hurt him. _‘Think Tony, think!’_ Tony thought to himself, _‘What did you see on TV?’_

“You don’t have to. You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to.” Tony said. It seemed like the right thing to say because Howie calmed a little. “But if someone’s hurting you, you don’t have to go back home. You can stay here with me and I’ll protect you.” Tony said. Technically Tony didn’t know that. He didn’t know if Howard would have to be sent back or not. He had no idea how interrupting timelines like this would affect…anything.

Howard looked up at him, “Mommy said she’s protect me. She always told me she wouldn’t let anyone hurt me. But she hasn’t come back.” He buried his face in Tony’s neck. “She never came back.” Howard said. It was the uncanny way he said it that had a theory popping up in Tony’s head. But he put that on the back burner to try and decipher what Howie was saying. Did his mother really leave or did she die? Or was there a divorce and she was forced to leave him with whoever was hurting him, presumably his father?

“What if you leave me too?” Howard said, still crying on Tony’s shoulder. Tony sighed, he knew he shouldn’t say this, especially since the kid has already been burnt once and Tony could easily get killed in his line of work but…

“I won’t ever leave you kiddo, okay?” Tony promised. “I won’t leave you.”

“You promise?” Howard asked, looking up at Tony so hopefully, as if his life depended on the right answer.

Tony nodded, “Yes, I promise.” Howard nodded and leaned his head on Tony’s shoulder, fully relaxed, and he stopped crying. Tony let out the breath he didn’t even know he was holding, hugging Howard as he stood, holding the kid close to his chest.

And Steve and Bruce chose that exact moment to walk into the lab, telling Tony Reed Richards might have found a way to send the kid back to his own timeline. Howard’s eyes shot up at him in total shock and betrayal.

“Um yeah, that’s going to be a no-go.” Tony said. The two looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

“Tony, what?” They said simultaneously.

“So Howie and I have an understanding that he can stay here.” Tony said, very seriously. Tony wasn’t planning on sending Howie back unless his displacement would cause the universe to implode upon itself…even then, Tony might just owe humanity an apology.

Bruce shook his head, “Tony, we don’t know if he can stay. We don’t know the effects.”

“What is he talking about?” Howard asked Tony. The genius patted his back.

“It’s nothing kiddo, just…you know what, I really what to see what you can do with that robot you were building.” Tony said. Howie nodded, climbing out his arms but he grabbed Tony’s hand, pulling him over to where his project was. Steve and Bruce followed them, very bewildered.

Steve said, “Look Tony, I know you might feel attached but we can’t—”

“Let me tell you a story,” Tony said as he sat beside Howie on the floor. Steve and Bruce sat in chairs across from them. “See, there was this _puppy_ whose owner was very unkind to him. He _hurt_ the puppy.” Tony said, looking at the two to make sure they were following along. Their eyes lit up in understanding and they nodded. “So the puppy got lost one day and ran into a…mechanic. The puppy told him what was going on and the mechanic may or may not have told the puppy he never had to go back to his home.”

Bruce took his glasses off, running a hand down his face, “Tony, the mechanic…he shouldn’t have told the puppy that, he didn’t know if he could keep that promise or not.”

“And how’s the puppy going to feel if the mechanic has to break his promise and send him back home.” Steve chimed in. Though he was looking down at Howie in sympathy. Howard had been his best friend after all. And if Tony could get _Steve_ on his side, then the rest of the team would just follow…hopefully.

“But the mechanic is fairly certain that he won’t have to send the puppy back. Mostly because if it were, the mechanic probably would have disappeared the moment the puppy arrived.” Tony said, just throwing up the first thing that popped up in his mind. “And probably the mechanic’s blonde boyfriend since the puppy had a hand in them meeting.”

“I’ve never seen a girl mechanic before.” Howie said as he assembled the pieces, making what seemed to be a leg to Tony. He took a minute to admire how quickly Howie was working before tackling what the kid was talking about. Tony hadn’t even known he was listening to what they were saying. He seemed so enthralled with his work.

“He’s from the _twenties_ Tony.” Steve said. “Our thing wasn’t a thing back then. Unless it were a bad thing like…” He gestured towards Howie. Tony oh’d. He had forgotten that.

“Right, well…actually the blonde was more of the girl but you know, apples and oranges.” Tony said, grinning when Steve glared at him.

“Maybe not on a short-term scale Tony, but something might happen if the puppy stays to long.” Bruce said.

“I know but…” Tony trailed off, looking down at Howard. He was so happy right now, and relaxed. Tony didn’t want to send him back to hell. “You know, the owner isn’t going to stop. The puppy going to go back to being hurt. And, it’s already affecting the puppy pretty bad right now. What about after another ten or eleven years of abuse?”

“He’ll die, won’t he?” Howie asked. “Dog’s don’t live that long so he’ll be dead by then.” Tony sighed, glad that Howard seemed to believe his rouse but…now that he was thinking about it, thinking about the man he grew up with…it did kind of seem like his dad was a little dead inside.

“That’s exactly right, he’ll die.” Tony said, looking back up at the two. He didn’t even know why he was making this argument. He wasn’t sending Howie back, his mind was made up on that.

“If you send the puppy back…he’ll leave when he’s sixteen and you’re right. He will be a little…dead” Steve said, looking at Bruce. “How about we just see what Richards has to say, that way we can have a backup plan in case something goes wrong and just keep him here for as long as we can.”

Bruce sighed, looking between Steve and Tony, then his eyes settled on Howie, “Fine, I guess we’ve done worse, like Ultron,” Tony glared at him, “but we might want to talk to Thor too. He would probably know something about…this stuff.” Tony sighed in relief.

“Good, I’m glad that’s settle. Now, I think we’ve got a lot of shopping to do. And we have to Howie-proof the tower. If he’s anything like me, he’ll get into anything.” Tony said, as he picked up Howard. “And we’ve got to find you a bedroom.” Tony told him. Howard beamed, lying his head on Tony’s shoulder, very content.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoyed it. :D
> 
> Please leave feedback and feel free to criticize; I am always looking for opportunities to grow.
> 
> I’ve launched an E-Zine where people submit their favorite fics and the best ones get published in the zine. I’m doing this because I want to create something that acknowledges fanfic writers and makes them feel confident about themselves while bringing people of different fandoms together. To submit your favorite fics, go [Here](https://goo.gl/forms/h0LI8s7WGgZV2gBl1)


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